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A successful step towards freedom of education in Europe

A successful step towards freedom of education in Europe

Dear Friends,

The European Parliament is engaged in an intense and controversial debate about the future of European integration and the question of individual rights in Europe. What kind of Europe do we want to pass on to our children and young people? Will it be a Europe that is open and socially responsive or one with boundary fences and nationalistic sentiment?

Education plays a fundamental role in this! This is where ELIANT is actively engaged

On 13th June 2018 the European parliament approved a report on modernisation of education in the EU which apart from recommending that media education should be appropriate to both age and development, it also contained requests for advancing a free and independent educational system in Europe (see ELIANT Newsletter "Digital Technology Yes – but at the Right Time").

One of our founding ELIANT partners, the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education worked with members of the working group on improving the financial position of schools in the voluntary sector and came together (in spring) with other organisations concerned with independent education (especially OIDEL and ECNAIS) and proposed some significant changes.

The EU report recognises the importance of freedom of choice

The report concluded by emphasising the importance of having the freedom to choose between different approaches to education. It then explicitly recommended giving financial support to independent charitable educational institutions of all kinds and at all levels. More information here.

This example demonstrates how important it is to have representatives from organisations concerned with applied anthroposophy in Brussels.

We are grateful for your support for it allows us to continue with and promote our important work in Brussels.

Warm greetings from the ELIANT teamMichaela Glöckler

Human dignity - the principle cultural value

Human dignity - the principle cultural value

Dear friends of ELIANT,

This first newsletter, coming after a longer break, is dedicated to an issue of central importance to ELIANT, one we have been intensely occupied with over the last months – how to raise awareness for and find partners to actively uphold and strengthen human dignity in the face of increasing threats. Two examples:

Challenges for the educational system in the digital ageDevelopment neurologists like Prof. Hüther and economic experts such as McAfee, the director for Digital Business in MIT in Cambridge, agree that 60% to 70% of today's professions could be replaced by artificial intelligence and robots.

In order to live a meaningful life in this new world we need creativity, social skills and a capacity for entrepreneurial thinking and action. The foundation for all of these however is found in the analogue and not in the digital world!

Our new European-wide education campaign – in partnership with the «Bündnis für humane Bildung» - has gathered 20,000 signatures including from prominent figures such as the founding President of the University of Witten-Herdecke, Dr. Konrad Schily. Many are hesitant at joining in however. Yet it is about the human dignity of children and young people! About their right to a healthy brain development in the analogue world of time and space. We must address this paradox – to become human requires an interaction with human beings, not with machines. We need an education system that orientates itself towards the human being and not to economic interests! You can sign the petition here.

Homeopathy should have the same recognition as allopathic medicine

The current defamation campaign being orchestrated against homeopathy across the world is focused on the way it deviates from the prevailing scientific paradigm and takes the experience of quality and process as its starting point. Allowing for different ways of thinking about spirit and matter however is the basis of tolerance and human dignity – and is indispensable for an integrative approach to medicine that takes the creative human spirit as seriously as it does the transient body. Our ELIANT Alliance partner «Gesundheit aktiv» is preparing a campaign on this issue about which we will report more in due course.

ELIANT sees itself as a force within civil society that gives voice to our endangered human dignity. Please lend us your support by distributing this newsletter and making a Donation.

With warm thanks and greetings on behalf of the ELIANT team

Michaela Glöckler

Your opinion as a citizen is requested

Your opinion as a citizen is requested

Would you like to have your voice heard in Europe?

Dear friends of ELIANT,

On May 9th, Europe Day, the European Commission launched a one year consultation open to all European citizens, on the future of the EU. It contains a comprehensive list of questions. We were however shocked to discover two major omissions that we consider absolutely essential:

How do citizens see the future of democracy and the role of civil society in the EU?ELIANT sees both of these as being vital for a strong Europe. An active civil society movement is the backbone of a functioning democracy.

How can you help ensure that these two points are properly considered?You can serve the future of Europe by responding to the consultation and entering something like the following under the first question of the consultation:

Cultural change is driven by citizens initiatives and the political, cultural, educational, medical and agricultural goals that they set. Their concerns must be taken seriously, addressed and included by Brussels in their strategic plan for the future of Europe.

Since the Commission and Council of Ministers have not only an executive but also a legislative function within the EU, it is particularly important for civil society to be included. The usual separation between the executive (Commission) and the legislature (Parliament) is not (yet) realised in the EU.

What can ELIANT contribute towards Europe's future?Together with partners who share the same goals, the ELIANT alliance can strengthen and support projects and cultural initiatives across Europe that are value-focused and ecologically orientated. Learn more about our mission and our activities.

Thank you and best wishes Michaela Glöckler (for the ELIANT-Team)

A gift from you will help us expand our work. Along with the Germany-based Alliance for Humane Education, we are currently engaged in an EU-wide campaign to secure the right to have screen-free early years and primary school education. You can sign the petition here.

Maintaining Soil Fertility – Vital for Future Survival

Maintaining Soil Fertility – Vital for Future Survival

Maintaining soil fertility – what can we as individuals do to contribute?

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Over the last 40 years nearly 33 percent of the earth's surface has been eroded and become infertile. This development appears unstoppable – the areas available for production continue to decline each year. This means that future generations will have ever less land available to meet their food requirements. It is vital for our survival that the remaining fertile soils are retained.

Causes of soil erosionIntensive agriculture must continually improve its efficiency if it is to compete effectively on the market place with low prices. The plants are fed with chemical fertilizers and numerous application of pesticides are sprayed. The result is the disappearance of soil fungi and micro-organisms needed by the plant roots and for soil fertility. The soil loses its structure, water holding capacity declines and erosion occurs. Eroded soils are unable to absorb sudden heavy downpours which in turn causes flooding and mudslides. These soils are also unable to retain moisture and without adequate irrigation possibilities, crops will suffer and fail during periods of hot, dry weather.

What can we do? The more we understand of this situation the clearer it becomes that consumers ultimately hold the whip hand – our buying choices can secure the overall sustainability of organic agriculture:Organic and biodynamic practices specifically enhance soil fertility, they can also regenerate soils that have eroded. All chemical fertilizers and pesticides are dispensed with and care is taken to ensure that high quality food is produced from healthy soils. Social sustainability is however also important – the prices charged should not only cover the cost of production but also the development of the farms and people working on them. Ever since it began, the ELIANT alliance has championed the promotion and further development of organic and biodynamic farming. Your donations help us to continue our work. Thank you for all your support!

With warm greetings (on behalf of the ELIANT team)Michaela Glöckler

PS Our education campaign is developing well but there is still a long way to go to reach the goal of one million signatures in one year. We are grateful for every signature and for sharing our link widely. PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR LANGUAGE ON OUR WEBSITE BY CLICKING ON THE NATIONAL FLAGS.

Our Freedom of Choice is in Danger! A Citizens’ Movement for "A Human Education"

Our Freedom of Choice is in Danger! A Citizens’ Movement for "A Human Education"

Petition to education officials in the EU and their Member States.

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Many of you signed a petition last year saying no to digital day care centers and yes to positive educational innovations. This year the over 68000 signatures will be handed to the new Minister of Research and Education, Anja Karliczek.

But, that petition alone is not enough. Europe needs a citizen's movement for a human education! The digital transformation of society is being advanced at a rapid pace by business and political interests. While older adolescents and adults see technology as a challenge which they need to take on, for early childhood and elementary school children it constitutes a risk to their healthy development. Therefore, the "Alliance for Human Education" (www.aufwach-s-en.de) and ELIANT (www.eliant.eu) have joined forces to make possible a vitally important choice: that teachers and parents must be able to decide for themselves up to which age children should be educated in a screen-free environment. Educators must be left free to choose for themselves with which media they work and teach, and if and when they use digital media as a teaching tool. To make this possible we must have the right to screen-free day-care centers and elementary schools.

We are committed to this goal through our petition across all of Europe, directed to those responsible for education in the EU and its Member States. Please support us with your signature!

This takes you to the petition. Thank you very much!With best wishes for a happy Easter, kind regards - also from the "Alliance for Human Education",

Michaela Glöckler

How you can help. Thank you.

Return the human being to the centre of society

Return the human being to the centre of society

Learning is experience. Everything else is information.

Dear ELIANT friends,

In her opening speech at the ELIANT conference on November 28th, Martine Reicherts pointed to the importance of the digital debate organised by ELIANT: "We need to return the human being to the centre of society. People like you are needed, it's a question of heart, friendship and common values and we should focus on all that unites us even if we see many things differently."

Later, Prof. Fuchs, an international expert on embodied cognitive science, spoke of how physical activity, social interaction and emotional engagement form the basis of human cognition. Cognition, emotion and action always work together as an integral unit. The brain is a mediating organ that is shaped by the continuously occurring interactions with the world, it is not a hard drive or a computer. And Prof. Gertrud Teuchert-Noodt's final message (quoting Einstein) was: "Learning is experience. Everything else is just information."

The ELIANT conference November 28th with more than 160 participants was a great success and made a significant contribution towards highlighting the importance of an age-appropriate use of digital media. Please find the videos, written summaries, pictures and twitter story of this conference here.

With warm greetings and best wishes for the New YearMichaela Glöckler

Age-appropriate media education in Europe - Appeal

Age-appropriate media education in Europe - Appeal

Campaign with us for a healthy digital ecosystem in Europe!

Over the next two years the EU Institutions will step up their efforts to work with member states on how to teach digital competence in schools and early childhood settings. This is why Martine Reicherts the Commissions Director-General Education and Culture, called on us to engage with them during the opening panel discussion of the conference – she literally said to us: "Go on, we need you".

We can only do this in the coming year however if sufficient funds are available. We therefore welcome every contribution however small it might be that can help us to carry out our work. This vitally important discussion about age-appropriate media education needs to happen with leading figures in the Commission as soon as possible – for the sake of our children and the world of tomorrow.

As a civil society organisation ELIANT is strictly independent of all economic and party political interests. This is why we rely on civil society to support us in our activities.

Parents and education professionals are confronted with political decisions that encourage the integration of IT-Technology in early childhood, Kindergartens and primary schools. Do we know how IT-Technology affects a child's orientation in space, time and within the analogue world? How is the development of empathy and key social skills affected? We might ask ourselves however why Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and others decided to keep their own children away from these gadgets?

All these questions made us eager to learn more about the subject, invite high level experts to our conference and enter in-depth discussions about it.

We hope that our conference will provide opportunities for making effective partnerships, networking and planning future campaigns to benefit upcoming generations in Europe and across the world.

For age-appropriate media education in Europe

For age-appropriate media education in Europe

The ELIANT conference, November 28th about the Agenda for Europe regarding digital competences

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

On 14th September 2017 the European Parliament formally adopted its report on the 'New Skills Agenda for Europe. We were very pleased that the changes proposed by our ELIANT Alliance partner the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education ECSWE to secure an age-appropriate approach to media education, were well received! This decision by the European Parliament provides a good foundation for our ELIANT Conference – what is important now however is its implementation! And that is what the event in Brussels on 28th November will be about.

People who are engaged and socially competent are fundamental to any constructive, democratic progress. Motivation, creativity, empathy and tolerance as well as a willingness to engage actively with social and political issues are capacities that do not develop by themselves. Convincing examples need to be given by adults. Premature access to digital media can have lasting negative effects on brain development and on a person's inner maturity.

Presentations will be given by Prof. Thomas Fuchs und Prof. Gertraud Teuchert-Noodt who are recognised experts on the theme of media education. The EU Commission's goals and objectives for education and culture will be presented by EU Directorate General Martine Reicherts, DG Education and Culture. Seven workshops will provide opportunities for deepening and working on the theme and – most importantly - a chance to form a Europe-wide network and discuss further campaigning actions.

We depend on financial support to cover the cost of preparing and running the conference. Since ELIANT is a not-for-profit civil society organisation independent of all economic and political interest groups, every contribution however small is invaluable to us.

With warm thanks from the ELIANT teamDr. Michaela Glöckler

Success in Brussels for age-appropriate media education

Success in Brussels for age-appropriate media education

An opportunity for children in the EU

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

We mentioned at the end of May that the European Parliament was going to prepare a report on the New Skills Agenda for Europe. In its preliminary draft, the European Parliament welcomed the proposal by the European Commission to develop "comprehensive national strategies for digital competencies" at the Member State level. What was missing however was an age-appropriate approach to media education. Our ELIANT Alliance partner, the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), campaigned strongly to bring about changes to this draft. For to us, the ever earlier, and ever more pervasive use of digital media is not the right route to take.

On the 21st June 2017 the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Culture and Education adopted their joint report on the New Skills Agenda for Europe. We are very pleased that the changes proposed by our educational experts for an age and development-appropriate approach to media education, has been fully accepted. (see detailed report).

This is an important step forward not only for the European Waldorf School Movement but for all children in the EU. If the plenary session taking place on 14th September agrees, then ELIANT together with its partners ECSWE and IASWECE will introduce the debate on how digital skills can be introduced in a way that is appropriate to the child's age and stage of development.

We are grateful for all your support and will keep you updated on developments.

Digital technology? Yes, but at the right time!

Digital technology? Yes, but at the right time!

Digital technology? Yes, but at the right time!

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

A draft proposal for a new skills agenda for Europe is currently being discussed in the European Parliament. The proposals being put forward by the European Commission in the chapter on digital skills, call for the development of "comprehensive national strategies for advancing IT skills."

This proposal however lacks any understanding for what the child needs in terms of media education. ELIANT is therefore actively supporting our fellow alliance partner – the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education ECSWE, with their concerns! The sobering findings of the OECD study (2015) into the use of digital technology in the classroom, needs careful consideration. We believe that the ever earlier and ever more comprehensive use of digital media goes in the wrong direction. The many risks involved and the potential for addiction are not taken into account.

From the perspective of Steiner Waldorf education, the basis for media education lies in developing age-appropriate ways to encourage creativity, train the will and gain proficiency in reading, writing, arithmetic and independent thinking. These are the pre-requisites for ensuring that children and young people can gradually gain access to the digital world without being harmed. ECSWE is now actively campaigning for changes to the draft proposal and is in on-going contact with key parliamentary representatives.

We are therefore urgently requesting your help in gathering further signatures for our petition "no, to digitalised pre-schools – yes to constructive educational investment" by 20th May. You can view the current position here: www.openpetition.deYoung children need special protection. Our alliance partner the International Association of Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Education (IASWECE) has taken on this task.

We will keep you informed about the next steps and would like to express our warm gratitude for all the financial support!

Please support our petition for screen-free child care facilities!

Please support our petition for screen-free child care facilities!

Please support our petition for screen-free child care facilities!

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

More than 37,000 people have already signed our petition in support of screen-free child care centres and nursery schools. We need your active support to enable us to meet our target of 100,000 by the middle of May. Please help by making this important issue as widely known as possible.

You can sign the petition online or print off an A4 petition sheet and ask your friends and colleagues to sign the petition. The filled in sheets should be sent before 15th May to:

Bees are still in danger! Taking Responsibility for Man and Nature

Bees are still in danger! Taking Responsibility for Man and Nature

Towards an agriculture which has no toxic consequences for bees, human beings and nature

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Why is Glyphosate particularly lethal to bees? It is not just that it is the most widely marketed pesticide in the world – see our newsletter on climate, soil and the effects of pesticides. But because it is neutral in terms of taste and smell it is an ever present and growing danger to bee colonies. Bees are unable to distinguish it from water. Even the brood comes in contact with this soluble toxin via the feed. This reduces the bees' resistance to disease and damages their sense of orientation. The health of the entire bee colony is then seriously compromised.

Bees have accompanied humanity for thousands of years as the drawings in the caves of Araña clearly show. They pollinate countless cultivated flowers and food plants while gathering their nectar.

Bees are faithful to their flowers. Each individual bee visits one particular species of flower at a time. A bee will therefore fly continuously to rape or apple blossoms. It is this which makes their pollinating activity so effective – but when crops have been treated with Glyphosate it is a catastrophe. The bees settle on cornflowers in the wheat field for example and are showered with poison. Bees need water to drink and so on warm days they will take in a toxic brew of glyphosate and carry it back to their hive.

The introduction of this full spectrum herbicide which is also the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, has led to a decline of many wild flowers (field weeds) and hence to a food shortage for bees – quite apart from the potential danger it also poses to mankind. Scientists working for the World Health Organisation (WHO) have assessed Glyphosate as being "probably carcinogenic to humans".

ELIANT is campaigning for an agriculture which has no toxic consequences for bees, human beings and nature. We therefore support bee keepers, in particular the Aurelia Foundation in their efforts to oppose the extension of the Glyphosate licence in the European Court. This court action requires a lot of time and good lawyers.

The European Commission has launched a questionnaire concerning modernising and simplifying the Common Agricultural Policy. Here is the link to it. By responding before 2nd May 2017 you will be able to help make European agriculture more ecological.

A campaign is needed to uphold the dignity of the child

A campaign is needed to uphold the dignity of the child

Our humanity depends on healthy early years education

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Many people find it hard to believe that politicians concerned with education – not only those representing the interests of IT companies – are actively campaigning to provide every child attending pre-school day care facilities with access to an ipad. It is sadly however all too true. Little children are to be integrated within the digital world even though harm is caused not only in terms of neurological damage, but also by restricting the process of creative imitation without which neither body nor soul can develop in a healthy way.

Our campaign is needed to uphold the dignity of the child.

During the first years of life children learn three of the most important cultural human attributes, namely walking upright, learning to speak and learning to think for themselves. They form the prerequisite to be able to think and say "I am I" from a certain day on.

We ask you therefore to please support our petition No to digitalised child care – YES to constructive investments in education and make it more widely known. The campaign runs until 15th May 2017. By then we hope to have at least 100,000 signatures. This strong backing from civil society will then enable us to launch regional education campaigns in many countries, hold press conferences and arrange panel discussions, conferences and lectures.

ELIANT plans to hold a major event on this subject in Brussels on 28th November 2017. Such activities need your help if they are to attain the required impact. Your financial support is also warmly acknowledged for without it our activity would be severely limited.

Human dignity and our humanity are core elements of our cultural heritage – they too need protection and a voice.

Fever – an Opportunity for Healing

Fever – an Opportunity for Healing

Fever – an Opportunity for Healing

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Today, all over Europe medicines designed to combat fever – the so-called fever reducers - and especially antibiotics are being prescribed "to be on the safe side". It has long been known however that these efficient primary treatments can in the long run produce results opposite to those intended.

The well known anthroposophical paediatrician Dr. David Martin, has brought anthroposophical medical understanding together with the latest fever research. In it he shows how fever stimulates an immune response and strengthens the body's own resistance. It has the capacity in most situations to regulate itself – with the support of traditional home treatments. Only in exceptional circumstances – when self-regulation malfunctions – is direct medical intervention necessary.

The large amount of almost overwhelming scientific evidence now available (see below) showing that fever is vitally important for child development, should galvanise our efforts to secure our own health and that of our children. For that however we need a more sustainable approach to health education and a European health service that doesn't only focus on the removal of symptoms and which respects a patient's freedom of choice. Actively helping to bring this about is one of our key objectives in the field of medicine.

Without your support however - including financial support - our hands are tied. The more people there are who support our concerns the more convincing will we become on a political level.

Warm thanks and good wishes on behalf of the ELIANT team Michaela Glöckler

PS: Videos of all the lectures and workshops from the ELIANT conference 7th November 2016 you find here.

NO to the digitalisation of early years provision!

NO to the digitalisation of early years provision!

YES to constructive investment in education! NO to the digitalisation of early years provision! Please help us reach the goal of gathering at least 50,000 signatures by 15th May 2017.

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

With the successful staging of the anniversary event on 7th November 2016, a new phase has begun for our ELIANT alliance. We are planning a number of activities which we would like to inform you about over the coming weeks.

Today however we are asking you to sign this petition to protect childhood – a campaign that ELIANT has played a significant part in bringing about – and disseminate it widely among your circle of acquaintances. ELIANT is also intending to launch this petition throughout Europe and arrange various events on the theme.

Neither the health and education of future generations nor the cornerstones of our free and democratic society must ever be left at the mercy of the world's richest corporations and their economic interests! Our educational establishments and especially those offering early years provision, should remain free of the digital gadgets that exert such demonstrably negative influences on our children!

We welcome any financial support you can give towards our campaign. But even more important is your help in getting as many people as possible to sign the petition.

With warm thanks Michaela Glöckler (for the ELIANT team)

ELIANT needs your support now!

ELIANT needs your support now!

ELIANT needs your support now!

Dear Friends of ELIANT

During the 7th November ELIANT congress in Brussels it was very clear how fundamental rights and human rights can be all too easily forgotten within the day to day administration of the European Union. Freedom of choice and the ability to choose is negatively affected by this. ELIANT seeks to uphold the fundamental rights of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity and we are asking for your support:

If 10,000 of you were able to donate 10 € each within the next few dayswe would be ready for actionin 2017.

If freedom of choice, human rights and human dignity were actively upheld, parents could freely choose their school, patients could help determine their own treatment, anthroposophical medicines would have long since been available throughout Europe and there would be no restrictions on the preparations used in biodynamic agriculture.

We are counting on your help so that we can arrange two further events on this theme in 2017 with important decision makers.

We thank you warmly for your donation! With best wishes for a peaceful advent and blessed Christmas tide

Michaela Glöcklerfor the ELIANT team

Successful anniversary conference for ELIANT in Brussels

Successful anniversary conference for ELIANT in Brussels

Successful anniversary conference for ELIANT in Brussels

Dear Friends of ELIANTOn 7th November ELIANT held its own conference in Brussels for the very first time.

We were able to show how applied anthroposophy is a significant player in making respect for human dignity and the rights of freedom, equality and solidarity enshrined in the European constitution, a practical reality. Although the European Union has defined these fundamental rights in the Charter, the wider citizenry is largely unaware of and makes no demands on them. Situations where these rights are compromised are continually being accepted. It is therefore vitally important that civil society wakes up, looks carefully at what is going on and claims these rights.

Sophie Beernaerts from the department for schools and pedagogy within the EU Directorate for Education and Culture, emphasised that the freedom of choice and having those choices available depends on there being well-informed citizens. She therefore sees education as the foundation for European development. Gerald Häfner pointed out how highly dependent democracy is on the democratic perceptions and attitudes of individual people and how it is unthinkable without an active civil society movement.

Participants in the seven working groups brought clarity to the questions that need addressing in the near future. We will be taking these up as part of our on going public relations work in Brussels.

Here are some preliminary photos from the conference. Videos and conference reports will be available on our website from the end of November. With more than 140 people attended the conference was very successful.

The European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) provided invaluable assistance in the preparing and running of this event. This incurred costs however that we have not yet been able to recover. We are therefore very grateful to you for supporting this conference and our on going work.

With warm greetings from the ELIANT TeamMichaela Glöckler

Freedom of Choice Under Threat: What Can European Citizens Do?

Freedom of Choice Under Threat: What Can European Citizens Do?

Freedom of Choice Under Threat: What Can European Citizens Do?

Dear Friends of ELIANT,On 7th November the ELIANT Alliance is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a public congress in Brussels.

Since presenting the European Commission with more than 1 million signatures in support of ELIANT on 13th May 2011, we have been actively making the goals of the alliance more widely known. The 15 demands however (they can be found in the memorandum presented along with the signatures) are nowhere near being fulfilled. On the contrary, cultural diversity in Europe especially when it comes to the freedom and availability of choice in the fields of agriculture, medicine and education, is in greater danger than ever before.

This will be the core theme of the congress to which you are warmly invited. Please register here. The conference will be held in English. We would be grateful for any donation you feel able make towards the costs of the conference. The current challenges and future opportunities for cultural development in Europe will be discussed in seven workshops with key representatives. Please familiarise yourselves with the themes as presented on the website and then, after the congress, communicate the published results far and wide. The more people we can inform and engage in creating a thriving future for Europe, the greater will be the chances of success in our discussions with the responsible authorities in Brussels.

Thanking you warmly for your interest on behalf of the alliance partners

Michaela Glöckler

Problems and opportunities in today's educational system – a key challenge for ELIANT

Problems and opportunities in today's educational system – a key challenge for ELIANT

Problems and opportunities in today's educational system – a key challenge for ELIANT

Dear friends,since the introduction of PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) to education in 2000, standardisation, equality of opportunity and comparability has become increasingly important. Countries are competing with one another for the best position in the league table. This places both teachers and pupils under enormous pressure.

Fundamental criticism and new suggestions

Educational researchers are voicing strong concern about a system of education that is permeated by previously unknown levels of inequality, the unquestioning acceptance of an expanding use of information technology and the drive to adapt teaching to the needs of the jobs market. The climate of true learning, creativity and community in the school is being increasingly displaced by the drilling of facts, fear and isolation, and the lessons a mere routine.

During a conference organised by the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education in Luxemburg in January on the theme of diversity in assessment, Prof. Heinz-Dieter Meyer from the State University of New York called for Pestalozzi's idea of achieving 'harmony between head, heart and hands' to be taken up anew. This would enhance a pupil's concentraion capacity, overcome their sense of isolation and reduce conflict. Examinations could then be about applying what has been learnt in a reliable way. This is however precisely what is striven for in Steiner Waldorf schools. We are very pleased therefore that

Steiner / Waldorf education is represented in the Working Group on schools set up by the European Commission in February 2016!

In January the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), one of our founding organisations, successfully applied to join the European Commission's working group on schools and will be actively engaged with it in an advisory capacity until 2018.

ELIANT is strongly supporting these efforts and would like to demonstrate the solid support for child focused schooling within civil society. Please support our work with your donations.

With gratitude and warm greetings Michaela Glöckler

Organic seed must remain common property

Organic seed must remain common property

Organic seed must remain common property

From the beginnings of agriculture some 10,000 years ago until about 100 years ago seed was part of our commons. With conventional seed production methods this is no longer the case, its social foundation has been destroyed.

This makes it even more important to ensure that organic seed remains common property.

Conventional seed production is an industry dominated by a few large concerns that focus almost exclusively on marketing hybrid and genetically modified seed. This seed is bred in such a way that the farmer cannot save his own seed and must purchase it anew each year. To achieve the promised high yields its cultivation requires the input of artificial fertilizers and pesticides to protect it from weeds and pests.

This however brings with it disastrous consequences for soil fertility. But the companies that own and increasingly monopolise the seed market promise high yields – and a good return for shareholders.

Organic seed must not be allowed to suffer the same fate. It can only be prevented however if alongside committed farmers, we consumers also get involved!

It is the intention of ELIANT and its members to address these important issues in Brussels. This is why Demeter International organised another workshop discussion on seeds to which representatives of the European Commission and the parliament were invited as well as representatives from organic seed initiatives. Please help us to continue with these efforts!

As consumers we can make a significant contribution towards maintaining the health of our soil and our food through our buying habits and the way we engage with civil society.

Thank you for all your support

With warm greetings Michaela Glöckler

Integrative medicine offers patients a real and vital choice

Integrative medicine offers patients a real and vital choice

Integrative medicine offers patients a real and vital choice

Medicine is facing huge challenges throughout the world especially in relation to chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and the increase in allergies. Lasting and successful solutions can only be achieved through inter-professional dialogue and an integrated approach to medicine. Anthroposophical medicine with its focus on the whole person and its wide range of connected therapies also has a lot to contribute and is one of the many systems of integrated medicine that are being widely discussed today.

Despite the popularity of treatments offered by the integrative medicine approach it remains largely unrecognised by those responsible for health in the various nations. The Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM) in America and the Dachverband Anthroposophische Medizin in Germany (DAMiD)worked with other partners to initiate and organise an International Congress for Integrative Medicine and Health in Stuttgart in June 2016. More than 600 participants from 46 countries and from all continents came together to exchange and learn from one another.

ELIANT played a significant role in making it a truly international and successful congress.

We would like to warmly invite all our friends and supporters to join with us in SIGNING the statement released at the end of the conference which calls for the WHO and Governments throughout the world to help integrative medicine make a real break-through.

We would also like to warmly encourage you to continue supporting ELIANT. We need to redouble our efforts to encourage diversity and mutual understanding especially now when Europe is so deeply traumatised by Brexit. With your help it can be done.

With heartfelt thanks and warm greetings Michaela Glöckler

Greater transparency in EU Lobbying!

Greater transparency in EU Lobbying!

Greater transparency in EU Lobbying!

Dear Friends,

Transparency, including that relating to lobbying activity in Brussels, belongs to the democratic values and rights of citizens that are being championed by ELIANT. Secret lobbying undermines democracy and destroys the trust of citizens in the government and EU institutions. This sad state of affairs has been brought about by the inherent weakness of voluntary regulation and the lack of any meaningful sanctions. We don‘t even know how many lobbyists there actually are in Brussels, how much money they are being paid, where it comes from and what legislative programme they are seeking to influence.

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, has promised to make his Commission significantly more transparent than that of his predecessor and introduce a compulsory lobbying register for all the EU institutions.

Sanctions against lobbyists that break the rules are strengthened and enforced

We would like to encourage you to support these demands of Transparency International by signing the petition and encouraging others to do so as well. We would also like to express our gratitude for each donation however small, that you feel able to make towards ELIANT. This will ensure the independence and absolute transparency of our alliance and enable us to support our partner organisations in their campaigns for a more humane Europe.

Warm greetingsMichaela Glöckler

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance

How civil society and holistic medicine can contribute

Antibiotics are used to combat bacterial infections and inflammatory diseases. Up until now they have been most effective in controlling these diseases including the life threatening infections in hospitals. Excessive use of these medicines over the last few decades however, has meant that the strains of bacteria for which they were intended are becoming resistant to these antibiotics more quickly than it takes to develop effective new ones. It is estimated that around 25,000 people in Europe die each year from infections that can no longer be treated.

The use of antibiotics in agriculture

Legislators and civil society are able to act in situations where the use of antibiotics causes harm to people and animals. Yet their prophylactic use on healthy animals in agriculture presents a particular problem since they are an essential element of the intensive livestock system and also act to a certain extent as growth enhancers. But if the same antibiotics are used on animals as are used to treat people, human beings can develop resistance indirectly via the consumption of meat with the result that such antibiotics can no longer be used in the treatment of disease.

Effective treatment with homeopathic and anthroposophic medicine

To reduce the unnecessary medical use of antibiotics as much as possible, a different way of thinking is required of both doctors and patients. The research trials referred to below indicate – as those involved with integrated and complementary medicine experience on a daily basis – that most acute infections can be treated better and more consistently without antibiotics and hence with less danger of causing side effects. Practical aspects of this approach are explained in the books referred to below. With the help of external treatments and medicines of homeopathic and anthroposophic origin, the organism's self-healing capacities are supported and its immune system acquires the power to overcome the infection. Were this approach to become recommended practice, a significant step would be taken towards ensuring that the antibiotics which still remain effective continue to be available for those with the most serious infections.ELIANT along with its alliance partners in medicine and agriculture, is campaigning for the necessary re- thinking to take place within civil society and among the professionals and politicians who are responsible.

We thank you warmly for all your support and hope that especially in this field, we can make progress in 2016.

Integrative Medicine – the creative Medicine of the Future

Integrative Medicine – the creative Medicine of the Future

Integrative Medicine - the creative medicine of the Future

Dear Friends,

Between 60% and 70% of all European patients make use of natural medicines and complimentary therapies – with or without the knowledge of their doctor – alongside conventional treatments. A British study concludes that treatments involving natural medicine are far more closely aligned to what patients expect from an effective treatment. They are looking for a combined conventional and complementary approach to treatment and are keen to engage actively in the therapeutic process. They would also like to discuss the combined approach to conventional medicine, with their doctor (Little CV, The School of Health & Social Care, 2009). This way of working is known as „Integrative“.

The limits of modern medicine and the new understanding of process

The western health care system and its approach to medicine is clearly necessary and valid as far as an efficient diagnosis and the treatment of symptoms is concerned – that is when something acute can be treated directly. The underlying biomedical model however does not permit agenuine understanding of the physical, psychological and spiritual processes that cause a person to become seriously ill. Nor does the process of healing have the necessary orientation. The ability to understand the context of an illness is also missing. One's own experience of working with health and illness and the values connected with it are rarely taken into consideration when developing a therapeutic process. Informing patients of their options and actively involving them in their own healing process needs to become the prime focus of medicine and healthcare.

The future is about co-creative medicine

A large number of patients are looking for a holistic, integrated and person centred approach. They can feel how this helps them cope better with their situation. It is about healing and not just treatment. Added to this, the current world situation and the growing threat of radicalism demonstrates the negative impact on society of being unable to integrate. A way of thinking that results in exclusion rather than integration will inevitably lead to problems – especially in the social sphere where everything depends on having mutual respect and being able to relate with one another. It is important for the individual to have a positive experience of life – also with regard to illness.In 2013 the World Health Organisation (WHO) proposed a strategy for integrating traditional methods of medicine (WHO traditional medicine strategy: 2014-2023). A way will need to be found for including traditional, non-conventional and complementary treatments within a future human centred approach to medicine.This requires an open minded and pragmatic approach towards both conventional and complementary medicine. Ideologically based prejudices on both sides currently make this difficult. Doctors and therapists however are responsible to their patients and not to an ideology.

ELIANT seeks to ensure that doctors do not dismiss anything that might benefit patients – never mind how subjective it may seem! Patients seeking a co-creative approach to medicine need to campaign for the integration of the various methods. Without a strong commitment from civil society this new approach and way of thinking will not take hold.

Anthroposophical medicine has been consistently working in this direction since 1921. All of its practitioners have been conventionally trained and are committed to the holistic approach and methods of treatment used in integrated medicine.

Please help us to represent the interests of patients vigorously. By passing on our newsletter to friends and colleagues you will enhance our political influence. We are also extremely grateful for any support you can give towards our work through a donation – just a few Euros will help us to cover administrative costs.

The amount of agriculturally farmed land is declining not only across the world but also within Europe. Road building and the use of land for housing and industrial development is a major reason but even more significant is the increasing loss of soil through erosion. This is caused by inappropriate cultivation methods, the long term use of powerful weed killers and of course today's changing climate. Over against this is the growing demand for food from the world's expanding population.

Practical experience and research demonstrates that biodynamic and organic agriculture can prevent soil erosion and furthermore that by using the biodynamic approach it is possible to reclaim the desert and create verdant oases such as those in Sekem. This is why it is important that these areas continue to be sustainably managed and that their soil's fertility is maintained.

The availability of land declines, while demand for it increases

When land goes on the market it is usually bought by the highest bidder. Farmers who manage their land in a sustainable way are not seeking the highest return but are aiming for healthy plants and animals and a fertile soil. This is why such farmers do not generally have the capital to buy the land. It is instead taken on by property developers or international investors.

Land to produce healthy food

In 2012 our ELIANT partners Demeter International and the International Biodynamic Association co-financed a research study: 'Releasing the True Value of Land'. It investigated the European land market as well as new forms of agricultural land ownership including the successful Terre de Liens initiative in France and the Regionalwert AG in Germany. In these civil society initiatives members of the public make the land available to farmers on favourable terms. Farmers are then able to focus their attention on producing healthy food and creating fertile soil.

This study led to the foundation of Kulturland eG . It works in close consultation with farmers and farm communities to take on ownership of the land and lease it to them on a long term basis. Another initiative the Bio-Bodenfonds Cooperative of GLS Bank has also recently been launched. The Biodynamic Land Trust in England is active in a similar way as is the Association for Biodynamic Agriculture in Switzerland.

What can you as members of the public do?

Sustainably managed soils are part of our cultural heritage and are the basis for producing healthy food. You too can help to support these initiatives for the future by making an annual contribution, an interest free loan or a gift.

We are also very grateful for any contribution you can make towards ELIANT as that will enable us to engage with and inform Brussels and the wider public about new social projects that aim to conserve the soil for sustainable production. For this we thank you most warmly!

Michaela Glöckler

TTIP – Increased Trade for Better Living?

TTIP – Increased Trade for Better Living?

TTIP – Increased Trade for Better Living?

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

“TTIP – Increased Trade for Better Living?” This was the title of the conference organised by ELIANT and its Alliance partner Demeter International in Brussels on the 15th and 16th June together with European Public Health Alliance (EPHA). Our aim was to initiate a constructive dialogue between civil society organisations, the TTIP negotiators and political decision makers. The conference outcomes were a series of recommendations for decision makers. The first of these recommendations (see below) were presented to the European Commission and political decision makers in Brussels and then published on 23rd June at the 'European Trade Policy Day'.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

The European Commission and the United States are currently negotiating this free trade agreement. The aim of TTIP is to make trade and investment easier between the EU and USA and wherever possible to harmonise their respective laws and regulations. The negotiations cover all the important economic sectors such as industry, health provision (including medicines and medical products), food and agriculture. Supporters hope this will encourage economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic, produce more jobs and by creating the largest internal market in the world with over 800 million consumers, secure a competitive advantage in the global economy.

The concerns of ELIANT

Michaela Glöckler president of ELIANT, addressed the panel on 'TTIP negotiations and civil society concerns' and laid out ELIANT's concerns. She argued that it was in the public interest to include more civil society stakeholders in the TTIP negotiations. If a transparent international tribunal for Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) were to be established, civil society had an important role to play. ELIANT and its partners are advocating a fair and democratic trade agreement in Brussels that takes account of the true needs of citizens in Europe and the USA. The European values of cultural diversity, freedom of choice and the continued availability of choice must be upheld. They are put at risk if the TTIP negotiations take place without reference to them.Many civil society organisations are deeply worried that TTIP could undermine our democratic laws and rights. Most notorious in this respect are the plans for Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS). These would give foreign corporations the right to sue the host Government within an unofficial international court setting and operating without transparency and behindclosed doors.

The other big worry concerns TTIP’s objectives in relation to regulations and standards. No one objects to the mutual recognition and harmonisation of standards in the car or engineering industries since these bring clear benefits to both producer and consumer. Where they affect food, nutrition and medicines however, the harmonisation of US and EU standards becomes problematic. Food regulations in the EU are based on the precautionary principle in complete contrast to those in the US. The EU is not yet willing to give up this approach. With regard to rules and regulations there are many other examples which judged solely from the perspective of easing trade, would be inadequate and even fatal.

The recommendations of ELIANT

The aim of the conference was to provide decision makers with a list of concrete recommendations for developing better and more just international trading relationships that can benefit both society and the environment. Here are the most important points on our list:

In a democratic society there is no justification for keeping such far reaching trade negotiations secret. Citizens and their elected representatives must be kept abreast of the negotiations as they proceed and be informed of their consequences.

Instead of giving up sovereignty over our product standards, we should aim to improve and protect them using good examples and advising our trading partners regarding best practice. A good example of this is the concept of 'from producer to consumer' (farm to fork).

Agriculture should be excluded from TTIP. Trade agreements should affirm the sovereign right of trading partners to decide whether the import of particular products should be allowed, in accordance with the precautionary principle that is valid in Europe. An independent scientific assessment should ascertain any risk or uncertainty. Further relevant socio-economic and ecological consequences for agriculture must also be considered when making such a decision.

Health services are not like other services: The fundamental principle of universal health provision is non-negotiable. It is therefore vital that both public and privately financed health provision is excluded from TTIP.

ISDS undermines the principle of democracy and its progress and hence the sovereignty of society; it also discriminates against local business. It should therefore not be part of TTIP.

Dear Friends of ELIANT, we intend to continue our campaign regarding TTIP. ELIANT aims to keep a close eye on the negotiations and defend and protect the interests of civil society by engaging in a constructive dialogue with the institutions of the EU. To carry out this vital workwe need your financial support. We will continue to keep you informed of our ongoing work and thank you most warmly for your interest. We are very grateful for your help and support.

With warm greetings

on behalf of the ELIANT Carrying group

Dr. med. Michaela Glöckler

Climate, Soil and Effects of Herbicides

Climate, Soil and Effects of Herbicides

Climate, Soil and Effects of Herbicides

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

The climate is changing. Throughout the world the number of heavy rains storms is increasing. Water that cannot be absorbed by the soil runs off as surface water. Small brooks become raging torrents. Agricultural land and villages are flooded and the damage and costs of reparation are huge. Most serious of all is the large-scale clearing of (original) forest to make way for intensive agriculture, the ecological consequences of which are rarely taken into consideration.

How come the soil is no longer able to take up water?

Both ancient and newly formed soils are made up of mineral substances and organic matter. The organic matter in the form of humus and microbial biomass can absorb and hold water. The water holding capacity of mineral particles and sand by contrast is small. This means that soils containing a lot of organic matter are able to absorb and retain water and then release it again slowly. In so doing they prevent erosion.The long-term trial DOK comparing biodynamic (D), organic (O) and conventional (K) growing systems prove scientifically that organic and biodynamic agriculture produce soils with a significantly higher level of organic matter and humus than those of conventional agriculture.The following pictures were taken on the DOK trial plots after heavy rain:

The photo on the left shows a conventionally managed field - and on the right by way of comparison the biodynamic field. (Photos Thomas Alföldi, FiBL)

Soil is the Foundation

Healthy soils have a high organic matter content and and an unbelievably diverse range of soil micro- organisms. The greater this diversity, the more able are plant roots to access soil nutrients and provide plants with a diverse source of nourishment. The more diverse this nourishment is the healthier and more flavoursome do the agricultural products become. In conventional agriculture this microbial diversity is largely destroyed through the use of harmful herbicides and pesticides.

Glyphosate the all round herbicide (contained in Roundup)

The cancer agency IARC of the World Health Organisation categorises Glyphosate which is used in conventional agriculture throughout Europe, as being 'likely to cause cancer'. Its harmful effect on the environment has long been recognised.

ELIANT and its member organisations are actively engaged in discussions about Glyphosate. They are demonstrating the importance of holistic alternatives such as for example biodynamic and organic agriculture. We thank you for the support which makes this effort possible.

With warm greetings

on behalf of the ELIANT Carrying group

Dr. med. Michaela Glöckler

The future of Europe's culture depends on our children!

The future of Europe's culture depends on our children!

The future of Europe's culture depends on our children!

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

Our children will be forming tomorrow's society. If European cultural values are to continue evolving and not lose their inner content and purpose, we need to set an example and create value based opportunities for our children.

How ELIANT is dedicating itself to children and a society based on values.

On a European level ELIANT engages in conversation with the relevant Directorates-General of the European Commission to ensure that the well being of the child is taken into full account when political decisions are being taken. A network of larger organisations focussing on the needs of the child such as Eurochild, European Civil Society Platform on Life-long Learning, Alliance for Childhood and our own ELIANT affiliate the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), has developed strongly over the last year. A significant step in this process was taken during the conference on “Growing Together“ where teachers and other professionals worked together with children of various ages to find out what children really need.Our prime concern is to create a link between the various Directorates-General of the European Commission and the Citizens Initiatives that are concerned with child well being. ELIANT seeks to build bridges between the two and so encourage the creation of a Europe inspired by ethical values.

What does the UN Convention say of childrens rights?

In Article 3.1 it states: “In all actions concerning children ... the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration“. We want to support this and help ensure that these words translate into action! Giving children the time and space to develop and make their own experiences is key to this.

You can help ELIANT achieve these goals

Conversations with the appropriate Directorates-General of the European Commission in the way described above are time consuming and require a lot of preparation. And this means work, time and money.We are grateful for any help you can give and welcome all donations however small!

With warm greetings

(for the ELIANT Carrying group)

Dr. Michaela Glöckler

Plant Breeding and Biodiversity

Plant Breeding and Biodiversity

Plant Breeding and Biodiversity - an Urgent Concern

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

It is the small-scale and regionally focussed plant breeders who with their dedication, skill and modest means are maintaining the diversity of our plant varieties. With the help of natural plant breeding techniques they are also developing new open pollinated varieties suited to changing climatic conditions. The essential biodiversity of our seed stock is in this way being secured.

The globally active seed corporations are focussing their efforts on the genetic modification and hybridisation of important food plants like maize, soya, wheat, rice etc. to produce high yields from very few varieties - a sure way to increase turnover and therefore profit.

What did ELIANT achieve in 2014 for cereal and food plant diversity?

Our January 2014 conference in Brussels achieved great results

Along with Demeter International and a number of other organisations, ELIANT drew attention to the dire consequences of accepting the proposed new EU Plant Reproductive Material Law. The planned law would have drastically curtailed non-professional plant breeding and the production of seeds by farmers. It would have seriously threatened the diversity of plant varieties in Europe. In February, a few weeks after the conference, members of the European Parliament rejected the proposal!

Seed festivals in towns across Europe during October 2014

Seed festivals took place during September and October in Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, London and in Romania. In Athens the event was accompanied by a practical workshop and seed exchange.Among the speakers at the two day seed festival in Brussels were Florianne Koechlin who spoke about the plant as a living organism - the plant is not an object - and Christof Potthof from the Gene Ethics Network who gave a moving presentation entitled "No GM plants in the Landscape and no Patenting of Plants".

The festival in London was part of a nationwide event called "The Humble Seed". People were informed through lectures, workshops and other activities of the importance of having seeds that can be saved and sown again and why the continued availability of such seed is so important.

The focus of the three day event in Romania was on the different regional crops and on local seed. The benefits and value of these plants for both the environment and the quality of food were explained.The seed festivals were a first step towards making plant breeders and the public aware through dialogue, of their right to use locally grown seed. ELIANT would like to carry on with this work in the coming year both in Brussels and in other cities. This important work is however only possible with your support. Many thanks for your donations.

With warm greetings for a successful New Year.

The ELIANT-Team

Dr. Michaela Glöckler

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy - a Question for all of us!

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

Thanks to the active involvement of many thousand European citizens, the idea of renewable energy is no longer met with derision but is fast gaining mainstream acceptance. This would never have happened without the personal engagement of a great many people. In Germany for example there is an interlinked network of over 700 regional energy cooperatives which have developed their own wind turbine, solar panel and biogas facilities and financed them through personal investments and bank loans. This means they are community owned! Members run and manage the facilities and their primary objective is not profit but ecological sustainability, love for the earth and care for the living environment.

This development has been supported in Germany through the Renewable Energy Act which provides(in a similar way to the UK Feed-in Tariff) a guaranteed uptake of and payment for renewable electricityover a period of twenty years. This gave security to the investments.Due to the 2008 financial crisis however support for new projects and community initiatives suffered a sharp reduction as Governments re-directed their resources towards bailing out the banks. It is nowtime once again to raise awareness for this issue in every country of the world in order to counter the growing climate crisis.

ELIANT is taking up this vitally important theme and very much hopes that you will use your networks to disseminate this newsletter as widely as possible.

The above mentioned renewable energy projects, anthroposophical initiatives and 'green eco-projects' share a common understanding for the complex life processes of our planet. The practical outcome of this however is still far too limited. Supporters of these initiatives need to work actively together and all of us need to become more politically engaged! This will also send an important signal of hope to the younger generation.

It is particularly important to campaign for an end to the long standing subsidies - around 600 millioneach year worldwide - that go to support fossil fuel and nuclear energy! This would save a lot of moneyand make renewables instantly more competitive. Discussions with politicians need to take place aboutthis on all levels. A recent article appearing in the New York Times offered some encouragement in this direction. Even the Rockefeller Foundation announced its intention of ending its support for fossil fueland nuclear energy.More regional independence and greater resilience is needed so that a modern and human centred way of life is made possible not only within alternative circles but also in the mainstream.

ELIANT's objective is to assist in finding new ways of living that can provide a balance to our globalised, fast moving and technology driven world and prevent the sickness of our civilization destroying planet earth. To this end we are informing ourselves about and networking with like-minded initiatives such as those listed below.

Working with money in a sustainable way

Working with money in a sustainable way

Working with money in a sustainable way to increase social justice and reduce the risk of financial collapse.

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

What is a sustainable way of working with money?

It means in the first place using money consciously and being aware of what it is supporting. Money then should not only serve our own needs but also add value for other people and the environment. Through our behaviour as consumers we can create sustainable financial values that are directly connected to a person's concrete work.

A few examples:

If you buy direct from an organic farmer at the market you are paying the farmer what he needs to produce his wares. The profit he makes enables him to buy seeds for the following year, carry out necessary improvements and provide a good education for his children. The money spent is thus directly linked to the work carried out, provides immediate benefit to others and you receive the best possible food.

You could - individually or as part of a group - offer a loan to a young organic farmer at the same rate of interest as you receive from your savings account. This significantly reduces his finance costs; he has more time to focus on development and on his family. You are providing him with a better quality of life while receiving the same amount of interest as you would receive from the bank.

If trustworthy, competent young people known to you want to establish a business, you could together with others, provide the necessary start up capital in the form of a loan. You will then know exactly where your money is being invested and be able to accompany the development of the business.

You can also form a borrowing community with others and give money to individuals and initiatives that you deem to be valuable and trustworthy.

Sustainability, Money and Trust

Businesses creating sustainable products are generally enterprises with high ethical values - as for example many not-for-profit businesses, social enterprises, schools and kindergartens such as Waldorf school initiatives. In supporting them we are not only investing in sustainable initiatives but also in the trust between people.

Have you ever asked your bank what they do with your money and where it is invested? Depending on its investment criteria it is highly likely that the bank is investing your savings in the development of GM technology or in a South African goldmine with inhumane social and working conditions. That is surely not what you would wish for. Ethical banks have come together in the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (www.gabv.org). They offer broad support for sustainable development, community and environmental projects. Triodos Bank in the Netherlands and GLS Bank in Germany are co-founders ofthis alliance and are also strong supporters of ELIANT. The key questions to be asked in relation to the big banks are: Do I trust the bank's commercial behaviour and can I entrust it with my money?

The financial crises will not be overcome without help from the many individuals who consciously decide how their money is used.

ELIANT is concerned. Europe's financial crisis is not over as is confirmed by the news from Portugal. Billions of taxpayer's money has again been needed to prevent the default of a large bank whose investors' money had been used recklessly. To illustrate the concept of one billion Euros: This amount of money in 100 Euro notes would make a tower one thousand metres high! An unimaginably huge sum.

The financial crisis has consequences for our work and our lives. The amount of credit provided by banks is still too low and businesses are hard put to finance their growth. ELIANT encourages initiatives to understand why the financial crisis has occurred and supports alternative ways of financing. To heal society new values that serve other people and the environment need developing.

We urge you to consider our ideas and suggestions and to support us in our efforts to realise them and make them effective across Europe. We are making contact with consumer organisations, banks, authorities and business representatives in order to create a network for a sustainable way of working with money. We are grateful to you not only for your financial support but also for pointing us towards sustainably operating businesses and support worthy initiatives.

Thank you very much!

With our best regards

On behalf of the ELIANT team

Dr. Michaela Glöckler and Susanna Küffer Heer

Why is patient expertise so important?

Why is patient expertise so important?

Why is patient expertise so important?

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

Have you ever felt as a patient that decisions are being made over your head? And that you are disempowered? The focus on high-tech health provision, a lack of understanding for complementary medicine and patients who are uninformed can be very costly to the health service as well as undermining health.

ELIANT is working to recognise patient expertise in the EU and this means challenging the tendency within the health service of treating patients as children.

Why do we not have the information?

We have entrusted the care of our health to many powerful institutions: Specialist societies, associations of health professionals, hospitals, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies. They all set rules that determine what should happen to us in the event of illness, what we need to buy and what level of service we should expect or pay for. Only very rarely are patients or their representatives asked what they think!

Towards a new health culture in Europe

ELIANT is working together with citizens and patients organisations to develop a new concept of health care in Europe:

The knowledge and requirements of patients should be considered when a course of therapy is planned. A lot of evidence from complementary medicine shows how this expertise can be the real source of healing.

Therapists, carers and doctors should also be paid for efforts aimed at enhancing the science of health and disease prevention. It is not simply a matter of diagnosing an illness and then finding the quickest means to obliterate symptoms. It means for example having enough time for essential conversations, home visits and the provision of advice that includes options for complementary treatments and other genuine alternatives to standard medicine. In this way many unnecessary and expensive tests, operations and medicines could be avoided and patients' expertise enhanced.

Europe urgently needs a new holistic and democratically based health care system:

Classical and complementary medicine must work together.

Carefully developed internet platforms are needed to enable patients to find clear information about classical and complementary treatment possibilities.

With your support we can achieve this objective. Many thanks!

With our best regards

On behalf of the ELIANT team

Dr. Michaela Glöckler and Susanna Küffer Heer

Freedom of choice in medicine

Freedom of choice in medicine

Freedom of choice in medicine is only possible if that medicine is available on the market and the possibility for making a choice is guaranteed. Up until now however no suitable legal basis for this has existed!

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

Today, every fourth citizen of the EU makes use of complementary and/or anthroposophic medicine as an alternative or supplement to conventional medicine. In the EU however, these forms of medicine are not sufficiently acknowledged in either the EU’s health most member statespolicies or its legislation, nor indeed in the laws of most member states.

Please help us establish a legal footing for complementary and anthroposophic healthcare!

Get active in the European elections. Contact the EU candidates in your electoral district and share with them the EUROCAM Manifesto, which expresses our objectives. Together we can ensure that future members of the European Parliament are committed to addressing the concerns of complementary medicine in the EU!

Complementary and anthroposophic medicine is effective, appropriate and represents value for money

Anyone who has personally experienced these forms of medicine knows how indispensible they are. Their continued existence however can only be secured if their availability is enshrined by law throughout the EU. The European Parliament representing the citizens of Europe, is responsible for doing this.

That’s why we are asking you to contact the candidates standing for election to the European Parliament in late May, to share our Manifesto with them and urge them actively to support it in Brussels.

Complementary medicine has an extremely valuable contribution to make to the European healthcare system:

In the treatment of chronic illness, disease prevention, healthy ageing and in maintaining the quality of life both at home and at work

In lowering the cost of healthcare and making it more cost effective

by drastically reducing anti-microbial resistance and rendering an invaluable service to the providers of European healthcare

ELIANT is joining other partners in Brussels to promote complementary and anthroposophic medicine.

The IVAA (International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations) is a founding member of ELIANT, representing 31 national associations, 16 of them in EU member states. IVAA is also a member of EUROCAM, the European umbrella organisation for complementary medicine, which enables doctors, therapists, alternative practitioners and patients throughout the EU to assert their political and legal interests in Brussels.

But we cannot reach our goal without a broad network of active support!

Many citizens and elected representatives are not aware that complementary and anthroposophic medicine still lack an appropriate legal foundation.

That is why as a matter of urgency we are asking you to distribute this letter as widely as you can. The more emails European Parliamentary candidates receive from their affected citizens, the clearer will our concerns be to them and thus the greater our chances of success.

Who owns the seeds?

Who owns the seeds?

Who owns the seeds?

Citizens, farmers and growers challenged by EU seed law.

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

in the view of biodynamic growers and farmers, the EU’s proposed Plant Reproductive Material Law prevents seeds from being, and remaining, common property as required. However, current (legal) attitudes regard seeds as commercial goods. The latest draft of the bill offers very few development options for sustainable farming and agricultural biodiversity.

Seeds are common property

On 22 January 2014, the Brussels EU liaison office of Demeter International and ELIANT organised a conference on the EU’s new Plant Reproductive Material Law with the participation of allied partners IFOAM EU, ARCHE NOAH, ECO-PB, Kultur-Saat, Network Economy Group, Saat-Gut e.V., Réseau Semences Paysannes, Peliti and Bread for the World.

Below are some key points from this conference:

Seeds are a public good.

The EU’s proposed seed law must be publicly discussed and at sufficient length. Internal discussions between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council do not suffice.

The legislation must therefore be adapted to the specific requirements for organic varieties, so that heirloom seed savers and amateur growers on organic farms are also able to continue their work in freedom.

Additionally, research must be oriented towards ‘systematic breeding’ in which farmers and citizens can also participate, not just researchers and growers.

Conference summary

It is of the utmost importance that NGOs and private citizens actively join in the decision-making process, which requires greater public relations work. Please do your part by communicating this newsletter throughout your circle of friends and acquaintances.

Public seed festivals are planned for October in at least seven European capitals. ELIANT will publicise the planned activities as soon as the details become clear.

Decision by the European Parliament

A major success came when the European Parliament rejected the draft of the EU seed law on 11 March 2014. Unfortunately the Commission has not withdrawn the bill – now the European Council must decide how to proceed. If it supports the Parliament in this matter, then the bill is off the table. If it expands the bill together with the Commission then the discussion will begin all over again. We have to prepare for that and boost our public relations work.

Prospects

The general nature of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is characterised by excessive dominance by and promotion of competitive attitudes, in regard to seeds in particular. We encourage European citizens to work with us towards achieving a new European agricultural model, a model based on seeds as a public good, promoting sustainable quality for agricultural products and their cultivation, as well as seed biodiversity.

We’re counting on you!

With our best regards

On behalf of the ELIANT team

Dr. Michaela Glöckler and Susanna Küffer Heer

More self-determination in a unified Europe

More self-determination in a unified Europe

More self-determination in a unified Europe

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

As citizens’ initiative for a culturally committed Europe, what do we wish Europe, and what do we wish ourselves, Europe's citizens?

As citizens of this growing community of states, the European Union, we want above all: to be able to determine our own lives. For example, we want to be able to choose our food quality, we want to determine the schools we send our children to, the doctors we go to and medicine we take, all offset by the fact that we as citizens are willing to accept the responsibility for the diversity that this entails.

It is precisely those wishes and accompanying responsibility which the citizens' initiative ELIANT aspires and for that reason it endorses a number of projects in Brussels. Additionally, ELIANT, as founding member of Democracy International, is committed to a democratic Europe where the influence of civil society can grow on both, the social and cultural level.

The founders and core members of the ELIANT Alliance are the European umbrella organizations that represent the various initiatives of Rudolf Steiner’s applied anthroposophy: Steiner schools, biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophical medicine, remedial education and socio-creative initiatives.

These initiatives were developed by Rudolf Steiner and other contemporaries committed to achieving the social basic requirement: spiritual and cultural freedom, judicial and political equality and economic fraternity.

Help us guarantee those cultural achievements throughout Europe. ELIANT sees itself as part of the citizen movements that take responsibility in civil society - not least for those who cannot be heard, like animals (animal protection) and plants (refusal of genetic engineering), for the health of earth and society.

Thank you very much for your support!

With our best regards

On behalf of the ELIANT team

Dr. Michaela Glöckler and Susanna Küffer Heer

Supporting children in a holistic manner

Supporting children in a holistic manner

Supporting children in a holistic manner

Dear Friends of the ELIANT Alliance,

Children will shape the future building on the values that parents, society and school have modeled for them. The Alliance ELIANT makes an important contribution with its projects and partners to raise the awareness for these issues in decision-makers and civil society. The following projects give you insights into the activities of our alliance:

The Unfolding Conference took place in Brussels from October 23 - 26. It was organized by Learning for Well-being, Universal Education Foundation, Alliance for Childhood, Eurochild, Alliance ELIANT,International Association for Steiner / Waldorf Early Childhood Education and Evens Foundation. The ELIANT project-manager Michaela Sieh was the coordinator for this conference that reached out broadly. During this event, child rights were also discussed. As member of Eurochild, ELIANT supports the Child Rights Manifesto that was presented on November 20 on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day.

The Child Rights Manifesto

This manifesto, signed by 14 child rights organizations, calls on the European Parliament to use its legislative and budgetary powers in the best interest of children. What can you do? Ask your local Member of European Parliament to pledge to be a Child Rights Champion. Find all relevant informationhere.

Human values and core capacities

The main focus of this central conference in Brussels was to explore: what are the universal human values and how do we support our children to experience them, in relation to themselves and in their personal engagement? Respect for the integrity and dignity of the child from the beginning, truthfulness in encountering each other, loving interest for each other and for the environment in all its details. What does it mean in practice: relaxation, enriching sensory awareness, paying attention, and empathy – sensible listening, giving space for self-organisation and for inquiring? These capacities need to be understood, to be practised and to be brought to expression, also in the physical body. Thus, the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wholeness of the individual develops and can be perceived by the child. The child imitates this in a self-directed manner, and in this way, moving into wholeness can be awakened in the child and the child can take ownership of this process.

Allowing each child to unfold his / her unique potential

130 professionals from research and practice, policy-makers and an amazing number of engaged young people took part in The Unfolding Conference. Coming from 18 different countries, they explored together the question how a culture can be nurtured that allows each child to unfold his/her unique individual and social potential. The most important outcomes of this conference are new initiatives and the hope for a future-oriented education of the generations who will shape the Europe of tomorrow. A true advent theme.

Building a Europe for and with Children

The main focus of our work in 2013 has been on child rights and children’s well-being. We will continue this work in 2014, with the new project “Growing Together – Integrative Pathways to Child Health and Well-being”. This project is supported by Damus-Donata; our main project partner is the Universal Education Foundation (UEF). ELIANT is aiming at “building a Europe for and with children”, as the Council of Europe has phrased it so clearly.

At the conference “Children as Actors for Transforming Society” (CATS), ELIANT was represented by Michaela Sieh with a plenary presentation. A huge number of different international professionals and an engaged group of children and young people came together for CATS. This event was also a perfect preparation for the Brussels Unfolding Conference. Through the joint preparing for the next CATS-conference, this work is continuing on a partnership base, co-creating with young people. Everyone who is involved and interested in these issues is invited to join us for the next CATS conference, taking place from July 26 till August 2, 2014 in Caux (Switzerland). The topic is: Young advocates for change.

During the conferences in Brussels and in Switzerland, it has been absolutely amazing to listen to the young people who presented their issues during plenary sessions. Their insights and their capacity to express their wishes and hopes have deeply impressed all conference participants.

Dignity and freedom for people with special needs

Dignity and freedom for people with special needs

Dignity and freedom for people with special needs

In this newsletter we are reporting on the collaboration between ELIANT and the European Co-operation in Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social Therapy (ECCE)

ECCE is committed to fully representing the interests of people with special needs within Europe based on anthroposophical findings. ECCE was set up in 1992 in the Netherlands by the Council for Curative Education and Social Therapy.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which came into force on 3rd May 2008, underlines this matter. This change promoting the right to self-determination is taking place mainly for ethical reasons and requires our awareness, empathy and support if it is to be culturally effective.

ELIANT supports the objectives of ECCE

ELIANT advocates freedom of choice and the opportunity to choose for all citizens. ECCE represents approximately 30,000 European citizens with special needs. The majority is incapable of demanding their rights and need the help of others to do so. ELIANT is supporting this concern with one million signatures and presently 450,000 recipients of its newsletter. In the words of Goethe: “One alone does not help, but rather he who unites with others at the right moment.”

How ECCE is helping

Member organisations of ECCE offer a wide range of facilities: employment and work placements in care homes and within outpatient facilities and services, support for affected families, home help services, plus vocational education and training. There are different types of therapy beyond basic medical care and treatment which improve the quality of life for those people affected: massage, exercise therapy, eurythmy therapy, plus various forms of art therapy. For this reason, ECCE also promotes anthroposophical medicine and therapy and, as part of its work with ELIANT, collaborates closely with biodynamic agriculture organisations and the Waldorf movement. Evidence and experience shows us that not only dowe belong to a physical world but also a spiritual one which can be used to establish a basis for necessary ethical standards necessary for everyday life.Further information on ECCE can be found here.

An example of successful lobbying by the ELIANT Alliance and ECCE in Brussels:

To draw the attention of the European Commission in Brussels to curative education and social therapy, ECCE has invited various Commissioners and Departmental Managers to its conferences, with some appearing as main speakers.

Together with other organisations, ECCE is developing a so-called “shadow report”. This discusses the official EU report and forms part of a set process that allows non-governmental organisations to submit a “shadow report” to the UN. The report will be published in spring 2014. ECCE will give full and detailed reasons for the legal equality of people with special needs. After all, disability is a question of rights and ethics and not discretion.

A diverse and multicultural society

Sustainable Inclusion means an approach that will guarantee a successful and long lasting living situation for children and adults with learning disabilities. The decisive factor will be a change in the attitude of all citizens in our multi-layered, multicultural society towards respectful recognition and association with individuals with disabilities. Real inclusion means participation in an open society: children with disabilities are surrounded by people who happily are caring for them. The consequence is that they can become adults with a happy life!

Seeds are part of our culture

Seeds are part of our culture

Seeds are part of our culture

Organic seeds are a key issue for the future of organic and Biodynamic agriculture. After all, seeds are the basis of all life, all agricultural production, and consequently our food supply.

The Biodynamic movement is researching this issue, working intensively on it. ELIANT for its part lobbies in Brussels on a platform that aims to promote organic seeds as common property for everyone. Support us in our work.

Biodynamic agriculture (Demeter) co-founded the ELIANT alliance to promote the concerns of Biodynamic agriculture and to ensure their full representation in Brussels. The ELIANT founders are responsible for the ELIANT alliance and their six- monthly meetings provide an ideal setting for both an intensive exchange of ideas and for planning essential activities.

Sowing the Future

Biodynamic agriculture (Demeter) believes in a supply of open pollinated freely tradable seeds. In the autumn, participating farmers in a number of countries invite consumers interested in joining them to sow a field as part of an initiative called ‘Sowing the Future’. The farm locations and all necessary information can be found on www.avenirsem.ch. Everyone taking part sows seeds, immersing themselves in the atmosphere of this archetypal action. Sowing seeds connects people with the earth. They can see the seeds grow over the following months. The grain, harvested insummer can then be baked to bread.

Seeds are part of our culture – they belong to us all!

Promoting a supply of open pollinated, freely tradable seeds is Demeter’s response to international corporations that are producing genetically modified crop varieties. These corporations secure seeds bred using conventional genetic engineering, as well as unlawfully obtained existing varieties, by patenting them. This makes them unavailable to the general public, particularly farmers and breeders and the profits arising from the royalties paid on patented varieties line corporation pockets.

The current situation regarding seeds

As a global civilization, we are experiencing dramatic developments. Within the space of two decades, a powerful seed industry has emerged – with far-reaching consequences. The ten largest seed companies account for over 70% of the market worldwide. They are severely reducing the number of crop varieties which are available and this in turn shrinks the genetic base. Laboratory based breeding techniques are used, primarily manipulating plant genetic material in the test tube. Compared with other sectors and industries, the mechanisation of agriculture has developed very rapidly and the consequences for the future are terrifying.

What happened before genetic engineering? Where did seeds come from?

Seeds and propagation material used to be an integral part of farming culture. Depending on which part of the world, this was still the case as recently as a few years ago in some places, in others decades or, at most, one or two centuries ago. The perception was that seeds belonged to us all, or it could be said, they did not belong to anyone. They were not a commodity – they were part of our culture.

What can we achieve together?

Biodynamic plant breeders have already achieved an enormous amount: a wide range of excellent varieties have been developed. This work now needs to be underpinned legally and economically in society to ensure seeds are a part of our culture, belonging to us all. This requires collaboration between breeders, farmers, processors and, most of all, consumers and citizens.

An example of successful lobbying by the ELIANT alliance and Biodynamic agriculture in Brussels

The EU Regulation on animal by-products, which came into force in 2002 as a result of the BSE crisis, prevented farmers from using cow horns for Biodynamic preparations. Following seven years of intensive lobbying, they were included in a specific section of this Regulation in 2009, once again giving Biodynamic preparations the necessary legal security.

The Unfolding Conference

The Alliance ELIANT is co-organizing an inspiring international event: “The Unfolding Conference: Nurturing a culture that allows all children to unfold their unique potential and to engage in society”. We invite you to join us in Brussels from October 23 – 26!www.unfolding2013.org